Roberts made his long-awaited return from concussion symptoms last month, but he landed on the disabled list earlier this week with what was initially described as a right groin strain. However, Orioles manager Buck Showalter told Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun last night that an MRA revealed a right hip labral tear. Just brutal.

Roberts will get a second opinion from a hip specialist in Atlanta before deciding on a course of action, but surgery will likely be required.

“I traded texts with [Roberts] back and forth, obviously a little depressed about the physical issue,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “We were hoping to get better news. … I feel sorry for Brian, he worked so hard to get back to this point, to have something else crop up, it’s frustrating for him.”

Roberts batted just .182 (12-for-66) with zero extra-base hits, five RBI and a stolen base in 17 games prior to being placed on the disabled list this week. The 34-year-old second baseman has appeared in just 115 games dating back to the start of the 2010 season. Hopefully some better luck is in his future.

That said, this really sucks. He just can’t stay healthy. He hurt his back in 2010 and was out most of the season. Then last year he had the concussion problems that kept him out into this season, and now this.

He’s still owed another year and the rest of the money on his contract, but the Orioles simply can no longer plan on having him available to play. If he stayed injury-free the rest of this season, he could have played out next season as the bridge to Jon Schoop (assuming he’s not traded in the upcoming weeks) and retired or left at the end free and clear. Now, this is just going to end poorly for everyone.